Today, 120 Americans will die because they lack health insurance. That's 45,000 Americans every year. America is a pay or die country. If you can't afford to pay ever-rising insurance premiums, you could die.

It doesn't have to be this way.

But the legislation working its way through Congress will do little to change it. The best-case scenario will leave millions of Americans uninsured, costs will continue to spiral out of control, and insurance corporations will continue to generate obscene profits by denying coverage to the sick and injured.

Single-payer, "Medicare-for-All" reform will break the stranglehold insurance companies have on you and your family. It will cover everyone. Everybody in, nobody out.

If the Stupak ban becomes law, it will outlaw private abortion coverage for millions of women and prohibit coverage in the public option. That means that millions of women who currently have abortion coverage will lose it — and millions more will be locked out of the comprehensive coverage they have long deserved, even if they are paying for the entire cost out of pocket. It will be the most far-reaching restriction of abortion access in decades. We have to stop it now.

When you speak out, lawmakers listen. On Sunday, I asked Planned Parenthood supporters to contact President Obama and ask him to stand up for women — and more than 30,000 of you answered the call. The next day, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to women's health and stated plainly that Congress must pass a health care reform bill that does not impose any further restrictions on women's ability to choose a health plan that meets all of their health care needs, including abortion care.

Those of us who support women's health and right to choose must come together and demand that women be treated fairly under health care reform. We need to tell our leaders — including President Obama, Majority Leader Reid, and Speaker Pelosi — that women must decide for themselves what kind of insurance coverage they can buy and what kind of health care they need. Anything less is unacceptable.

Please, sign our petition right now — and know that this is just the first step in what will surely be a long fight for women's health. Over the coming weeks, I'm going to ask you for help again and again. And on December 2, thousands of supporters will gather at the Capitol to speak with one voice and tell our leaders: health care reform must protect access to abortion coverage. I hope you'll stand with us, today and throughout this crucial campaign.

Thank you so very much for all you do for the women, men, and teens who rely on Planned Parenthood. Sincerely,